Friday, August 12, 2016

World's Biggest Loser: Egyptian Judoka Refuses to Shake Hands with Israeli Who Defeated Him - Announcer: "That's What the Olympics is Not About."

Well the Egyptians lost to the Israelis in 1948, 1956, 1967 and 1973 and they didn't shake hands then either.It seems to be a pattern.In the most recent incident, earlier this morning, Islam el-Shehaby of Egypt lost a first-round Olympic Judo match against Or Sasson of Israel. The Egyptian failed to bow or shake hands - which is not only bad form but a violation of the rules. Perhaps to avoid a suspension, he came back and gave a perfunctory 1 inch head nod.El-Shehaby, who looks straight out of ISIS central casting, was roundly booed by the crowd. Sasson was obviously miffed but handled the snub like a gentleman.One announcer was quite disturbed:

1st Announcer: Israel takes the win. This, ah . . . ah, well we've had an incident here. The Egyptian walked away. Didn't shake hands with his opponent. He did bow, I think. I did miss that. In fact he's being called back here. The rules of the sport demand . . . he must not have bowed to his opponent. And, well, Sasson went over to shake his hand and he backed off. So, if you want to call that a bow [after el-Shehaby does a nod], there it was. That's very disappointing. You talk about that's what the Olympics is about - that's what it's not about. And to his credit, saison is just moving on with the (unintelligible).

2nd Announcer: Well, Mark, you're an outsider coming in, having a look at how, you know, the rules of our sport dictate absolute respect for the opponent.